Traditionally, canards and other deployable flight control surfaces have been primary utilized onboard larger airborne munitions, such as missiles. However, more recently, deployable canards have been utilized in conjunction with relatively small munitions, such as artillery shells and other projectiles. As a specific example, precision guidance kits (PGKs) have recently been developed that include a plurality of deployable canards. Each PGK is adapted to threadably mount to the nose of an artillery shell in place of a conventional fuse. In addition to providing a fusing function, the PGK guides the flight of the artillery shell by manipulating the position of the deployable canards in accordance with signals received from an onboard global positioning system (GPS) unit.
Deployable flight control surfaces of the type described above are typically maintained in a non-deployed position during launch or firing and subsequently released into a deployed position during flight. The deployable flight control surfaces are urged toward the deployed position by a structural biasing means (e.g., a spring) or by centrifugal forces, which act on the munition as it spins rapidly during flight. A deployment system carried by the airborne munition prevents deployment flight control surfaces until the desired time of deployment, which may occur shortly after munition launch or firing. By initially maintaining the flight control surfaces in a non-deployed or stowed position, the flight control surfaces are protected from physical damage that might otherwise in the course of soldier handling. In addition, by stowing the flight control surfaces during munition launch or firing, drag is reduced and the range of the munition is increased.
Conventional deployment systems utilized onboard larger airborne munitions, such as missiles, are generally reliable and robust. However, such conventional deployment systems tend to be undesirable bulky and costly for deployment aboard smaller airborne munitions, such as artillery shells and other projectiles. There thus exists an ongoing need to provide a deployment system suitable for utilization onboard airborne munitions (e.g., projectiles) and other airborne objects (e.g., satellites and sub-munitions) that is relatively compact and inexpensive to manufacture, in addition to being rugged and reliable. It is also desirable to provide a method for equipping an airborne object with such a deployment system. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and this Background.